Yoshi (SSB)

Yoshi in Super Smash Bros.
Universe	Yoshi
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Tier	A (5) (North America) ? (10) (Japan)

Yoshi (ヨッシー, Yoshi) is a starter character in Super Smash Bros. He is known for his unique double jump, shield and slew of low-lag, yet often powerful moves.

Yoshi is voiced by Kazumi Totaka, who had previously voiced him in Yoshi's Story, albeit via recycled voice clips from the game of the same name.

Yoshi currently ranks 5th in the tier list and places him in the A tier, all while being his best placement in the series. Yoshi is known for having unique properties compared to the other characters in the game: his shield—which is an egg rather than the standard energy bubble—doesn't shrink, making him completely immune to shield stabbing, allowing parrying techniques, and also lasts slightly longer than the normal shield. In addition, his midair jump gives him a type of armor throughout its duration, allowing him to escape combos and even hit back. Yoshi's stats are rather unique as well; despite him having above average weight, he has decent dashing speed and the fastest air speed in the game. Yoshi's down aerial is the most effective damage racking move in the game, dealing a maximum of 56% damage, while landing the move is made even easier using the double jump cancel technique, which can also be applied to his other useful aerials. His forward aerial is an effective meteor smash with very quick startup yet high power, along with the ability to combo into it with moves such as forward tilt. Yoshi has useful combo options outside this, including a versatile up tilt that can juggle fastfallers or heavyweights at any percent due to having set knockback, and lead into an aerial or up smash, with a late-hitting neutral aerial being able to followup with another up tilt to continue the combo.

However, Yoshi's above average weight and size make him rather easy for quicker characters (such as Pikachu and Fox) to combo. In addition, his grab is very slow and punishable, yet having limited range compared to other tether grabs. Yoshi also lacks a rising up special to recover, forcing him to use his double jump, meaning that if he flinches out of his double jump, he will be unable to recover. Yoshi's biggest problems, however, are his huge difficulties dealing with pressure, especially shield pressure, as well as lacking reliable approach options with considerable range, making it very easy for characters with disjointed moves (most particularly Kirby's up tilt) to simply outspace him constantly.

Yoshi's properties give him balanced matchups, with his matchup spread having an average of 50:50. He generally has trouble against higher tiered characters, but can do well against lower tiered characters, though he has a handful of even matchups against characters near or below him on the tier list. However, because of the results and representation other characters have had, as well as Yoshi being buffed on international releases of the game, he is ranked 10th in the Japanese tier list, where he has mostly below-average matchups, though unlike the NTSC version, he is considered a hard counter against Luigi.

Attributes

Yoshi's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

Yoshi using Egg Lay in the Smash 64 instruction booklet.

Yoshi is a surprisingly heavy character (third heaviest character in Smash 64), yet is relatively quick, with the fastest air speed in the game, with a moderately fast dashing speed and fast walking speed to complement this. He has an average falling speed and fast falling speed. Unlike other characters, Yoshi's shield is not a bubble, but a Yoshi egg, which lasts slightly longer than other shields. It is also immune to shield stabbing due to the shield covering his whole body and not shrinking (rather, it becomes darker to indicate how close it is to breaking). However, it takes slightly longer to get out of than other shields. Yoshi has a rather sluggish roll, limiting his OoS options (though he can jump out of his shield, unlike in Melee and Brawl). Yoshi lacks a third jump, but his double jump is very large and also gives him a special type of armor during most of the animation. The unique properties of his double jump allow him to "double jump cancel counter", which enables him to escape combos and counterattack.

Yoshi has many KO moves, such as his forward smash and forward aerial (the latter of which can meteor smash). He has a huge amount of combo moves, such as his forward tilt and up tilt. The former has high hitstun and can easily combo into itself or a forward aerial. The latter hits opponents vertically with set knockback, allowing it to easily lead into aerials such as back aerial and up aerial. This is also an effective KO setup at higher percentages. His up tilt can also juggle fastfallers at any percentages, which can also be done in conjunction with an up aerial. Yoshi's down tilt also has set knockback, and sends opponents on a semi-spike trajectory, making it a useful gimping move. Yoshi can use a well-known glitch-tactic called double jump cancel, allowing him to use aerials quicker and combo with aerials more reliably. It's especially effective with his down aerial, which can rack up a huge amount of damage (maximum of 56%) somewhat quickly. Yoshi can parry attacks by timing a shield correctly (within 4 frames of being hit), which allows him to use an attack out of his shield immediately; and while the foe still has freeze frames to endure. In high level play, Yoshi is known for being able to break shields quickly using his Z-cancelled neutral aerial while using DJC. This is known as a shield break combo. His DJC'd down aerial can also break a shield if used correctly.

Yoshi also has a projectile in his up special move, Egg Throw. It is difficult to control, however, due to the arc that it travels in, and it is too slow and short-ranged to be as effective as some of the other projectiles in the game. The explosion does have good range and power, though.

Yoshi has a number of weaknesses, however. He has a lot of trouble dealing with pressure, especially from characters tiered higher than him. While his recovery can travel a decent distance due to his very high air speed, getting hit out of his double jump basically leaves him helpless, as he lacks a third jump to use. Even weak projectiles such as Fox's Blaster can cause Yoshi to lose his double jump. Yoshi's grab is slow, laggy and lacks range compared to other ranged grabs (Link and Samus's grabs). Yoshi is also fairly vulnerable to some combos due to his tall size and heavy weight. In addition to this, his reliable approach options lack range, giving him large trouble dealing with moves like Kirby's up tilt.

Differences between game versions

NTSC-J to NTSC-U

Yoshi was buffed overall in his transition to NTSC-U. His air and falling speeds are faster, both of which help significantly his combo ability with the former also aiding his recovery and his ability to escape aerial pressure along with his increased double jump armor. His down smash is also a more reliable KO and edgeguarding move. However, Yoshi also received indirect nerfs, due to the removal of momentum sliding and the higher SDI presence. Nevertheless, Yoshi is much better than in the Japanese version, which is reflected in his tier position.

Attributes

• Yoshi's double-jump has increased armor (110 → 140).
• Yoshi's double-jump has increased horizontal velocity (0.35 → 0.4).
• Yoshi has increased air speed (40 → 44).
• Yoshi has increased falling speed (55 → 58).
• Yoshi has increased gravity (2.7 → 2.8).
• The removal of momentum sliding slightly hinders Yoshi's approach.

Ground attacks

• Up tilt and down tilt now have a medium kick/punch sound rather than a heavy kick/punch.
• Down smash deals 1% more damage (13% → 14%) and launches opponents at a lower angle (35° → 30°), improving its KO and edgeguarding potential.

NTSC-U to PAL

Yoshi was negligibly buffed in his transition to PAL due to the reduction of the landing lag on his forward aerial.

Attributes

• Forward aerial has less landing lag when not Z-canceled.

Moveset

Yoshi's aerial attacks

For a gallery of Yoshi's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Yoshi performs a weak left kick, followed by a stronger right kick. The first hit comes out on frame 3, making it Yoshi's fastest ground move. The first hit does reliably lead into the second hit, although the second hit can be shielded on hit at lower percents with a crouch cancel. Both hits are actually guaranteed on shield and Yoshi can delay the second hit to potentially catch the opponent’s Out of shield options. Neutral attack can be used as a quick move to interrupt the opponent but it is overall situational due to its low reward along with it being unsafe on shield.
			5%
Forward tilt			13%	Yoshi kicks forward with his right foot. The move can be angled up or down although its damage and knockback are the same with all angles, with its damage being relatively high. Unlike other forward tilts, the move launches opponents vertically and as the move has low ending lag, this means that forward tilt possesses solid combo potential. It can be used as a combo starter or a combo extender, which can then potentially lead into a KO. The move's relatively high damage and relatively low ending lag also make it completely safe on shield, with the move granting Yoshi a large enough frame advantage on shield to lead into a guaranteed jab. Yoshi's forward tilt is overall considered to be the best forward tilt in the game due to its high combo potential (especially compared to other forward tilts) as well as its solid damage, low ending lag and its safety on shield.
Up tilt			12%	Yoshi performs an upwards headbutt. The move has high set knockback which launches opponents towards Yoshi. The move comes out on frame 7 and has low ending lag which along with its knockback, makes it a very strong combo tool, regardless of the opponent's percent. The move can easily start combos at lower percents (which can potentially lead into a KO) while at higher percents, it can lead into raw KO moves. Yoshi's followup options depend on his opponent, with Yoshi having more followup options against fast fallers (with moves like another up tilt or up smash only working on fast fallers). Yoshi's head is also intangible while performing the move which makes it an effective anti-air and the move is completely safe on shield. The main downside with Yoshi's up tilt is that because of its set knockback, it is less effective in some matchups than others. For example, Yoshi gets no followups against Jigglypuff (outside of crouch canceling) but Jigglypuff is the only character where Yoshi gets no followups, with Yoshi at least getting guaranteed followups/KO confirms against the rest of the cast. Up tilt is overall a highly effective move for Yoshi due to its speed and combo potential.
Down tilt			10%	Yoshi tail sweeps in front of him. The move has set knockback and it semi-spikes opponents, making the move effective at edgeguarding and setting up tech chases, especially at lower percents. The move is also disjointed (although it does not exceed the length of Yoshi's tail) and it has low ending lag, with the move being completely safe on shield. The move leads into a frame trap into itself on shield against a majority of the cast which makes it a strong shield pressuring tool. Down tilt is overall Yoshi's least effective tilt but it is a solid move in its own right.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 8% (late)	Yoshi dashes forward and performs a headbutt. It deals a serviceable amount of damage/knockback, Yoshi's head is intangible during its startup and while it has fairly slow startup lag, its ending lag is not too high. The move is safe against a majority of the cast on shield but it is unsafe against certain characters (although they cannot punish if the move crosses up). The move can be used as an approach option or as a tool to get opponents off stage/edgeguard but like other dash attacks, it is overall not a highly effective move as it usually lacks followup potential and it can be quite unsafe if it whiffs.
Forward smash			18%	Yoshi rears his head back and then thrusts his head forward. It comes out on frame 18 which is fairly slow for a forward smash although its ending lag is not too high. It has average power for a forward smash, it is safe on shield and the player can angle the move up or down. Yoshi's head is intangible during a considerable portion of the move and Yoshi moves his whole body back during its startup, which can cause moves to whiff. The move can be used as an edgeguarding tool or as a raw KO move, being a decent forward smash overall.
Up smash			18%	Yoshi swings his head backwards and then forwards. The move has strong horizontal knockback when hitting from behind while it has weaker vertical knockback when hitting from the front. The clean hit KOes Mario at 82% at the center of Dream Land. The move comes out on frame 9 and Yoshi's head is intangible while the hitboxes are out, which makes it difficult to intercept, especially in the air. The move has decent backwards range as well as great vertical range (easily hitting opponents on the side Dream Land platforms), although its forward range is limited. Yoshi can lead into an up smash with up tilt, forward aerial, down aerial or even an up aerial in the right circumstances for a KO. Even if the up smash will not KO, it is still a strong followup option to use as it can send the opponent flying off stage. The late hit can lead into followups at certain percents although its ending lag is fairly high, making it awkward for Yoshi to followup. The fairly high ending lag also does make the move punishable on shield against certain characters (when hitting from behind) although it is safe on shield against most of the cast. Up smash is also notably a strong Out of shield option for Yoshi as he can parry an attack and then up smash as a strong punishment option. Up smash can punish many moves which are otherwise completely safe (including a majority of landing aerials) and then the opponent can potentially get KOed fairly early. The move is only really strong to punish opponents behind Yoshi however as up smash has poor range in front of Yoshi and neutral aerial is a faster option to hit opponents in front of Yoshi. Up smash is overall a useful move for Yoshi due to its speed, range and power. It is Yoshi's best smash attack although it isn't quite as spammable as some of Yoshi's other moves.
Down smash			14%, 13% (NTSC-J)	Yoshi does a low tail sweep in front and then behind him. It comes out on frame 6, making it one of Yoshi's fastest ground moves and one of the fastest down smashes in the game. The move also has decent KO potential and a low hitting seimi-spike angle, making it strong for edgeguarding. Down smash does have a lot of ending lag however, which makes it very punishable. The hitboxes also have a very short duration, to the point where the opponent can shield jump to avoid the move with perfect timing, limiting the move's use for shield pressure, especially since the move is very punishable on shield. Down smash is overall a solid and rewarding move when used in the right situations but it is very risky.
Neutral aerial			14% (clean), 11% (late)	Yoshi sticks hit leg out in front of him. The move starts off with a stronger hitbox which then becomes weaker after the move's first four active frames. It comes out on frame 5 which is below average for a neutral aerial but it is still relatively fast. The move has average power for a neutral aerial but the hitboxes are active for a very long time. The main thing which pushes neutral aerial's usefulness however is Yoshi's double jump cancel. Yoshi can utilise double jump canceled neutral aerials to pressure the opponent, and set up combos. Neutral aerial is Yoshi's best option to set up a shield break combo due to its speed. Its quick speed also makes it one of Yoshi's most useful out of shield options and if Yoshi has the time to double jump cancel the neutral aerial, it can lead into followups at lower percents or his strong pressure game. Neutral aerial is overall a very solid aerial for Yoshi, which is elevated by his double jump cancel.
Forward aerial		Noggin Dunk	18%	Yoshi does a forwards headbutt which arcs above and then below him. It is a meteor smash which comes out on frame 11 which does make it one of the slower forward aerials/meteor smashes although it has low ending lag and it deals a lot of damage and knockback. This naturally makes it a very strong combo and edgeguarding tool, especially when combined with Yoshi's high mobility and his double jump cancel. Yoshi has multiple ways to lead into a forward aerial for a KO such as a forward tilt, up tilt or even a back aerial and forward aerial itself can setup into combos, KO confirms and tech chases. Forward aerial is overall a very strong and effective move for Yoshi due to its power and utility.
Back aerial			16% (clean), 10% (late)	Yoshi kicks backward with both feet. The move comes out on frame 10 which is a bit on the slower side but the move has solid horizontal knockback. Yoshi has multiple ways to combo into it, Yoshi can pressure with it using double jump cancels, it has very strong edgeguarding potential due to its strength and Yoshi's air mobility and Yoshi can even back aerial an opponent and combo into a forward aerial for early off stage KOes. It is overall a very solid move for Yoshi, having strong synergy with Yoshi's attributes and moveset.
Up aerial			15%	Yoshi whips his tail upwards. The move comes out fairly slowly on frame 9 although it has solid damage and vertical knockback. It is a strong combo tool at lower percents when used as a double jump cancel and at higher percents, it is a solid KO move. It can easily lead into itself multiple times or Yoshi's other moves. Up aerial does have unspectacular range below Yoshi however and it has a very short hitbox duration, which make it difficult to land against smaller grounded opponents. It is overall a very solid aerial but it does have its limitations.
Down aerial		Flutter Kick	4% (hits 1-14), 56% (total)	Yoshi performs a downwards Flutter Kick that hits multiple times and meteor smashes opponents. The move has 14 hits, with each hit dealing 4% each for a total of 56% if all hits connect. This makes it the most potentially damaging move in the game by quite a large margin although it is very difficult to land every hit. In addition to this, the move comes out very quickly on frame 4, which makes it a very fast and easy aerial for Yoshi to throw out. Down aerial deals so much damage that if every hit lands against a shielding opponent, it will break the opponent's shield. The move overall is Yoshi's least safe aerial on shield but a Z-canceled landing down aerial still gives Yoshi a decent amount of frame advantage to pressure his opponent, even if his stronger options are not guaranteed. With the move being a constantly hitting weak meteor smash, it naturally has strong combo potential, with a landing down aerial leading into a large amount of possible followups. The move does not put opponents into tumble until rather high percents so even if Yoshi lands every hit of down aerial, he can still followup on the opponent for a huge amount of damage. This naturally makes down aerial a very dangerous combo starter as it has the potential to deal a ton of damage. Yoshi also has multiple ways to combo into down aerial and being a meteor smash, down aerial does have edgeguarding potential. The main downside with down aerial however is that as it is a multi hit move, it is vulnerable to SDI. Opponents can easily SDI out of the move which limits the move's damage racking and followup potential. The move in general also does not work very well when Yoshi is rising. A rising down aerial whiffs a lot of hits against a majority of the cast (especially smaller characters) and while Yoshi can set up a lower down aerial with a double jump cancel, this does come at the cost of Yoshi losing a lot of hits and subsequently, a lot of damage. Additionally, while the move can be used for edgegaurding, the multi hits are rather weak at lower percents so the move can be survived off stage. Overall, down aerial is a very strong aerial for Yoshi when used in the right situations but it does become considerably less effective against stronger players.
Grab			—	Yoshi, sticks his tongue out and then consumes his opponent when it connects. It is an "extended grab" which has slow startup and ending lag. It does have a lot of range but its range is shorter than Link and Samus' grabs (although Yoshi's isn't as slow as theirs). Yoshi can get guaranteed grabs on shielding opponents after using his aerials but Yoshi's throws are average and his grab's slow speed overall makes it very difficult to land in neutral, in addition to being very risky. Yoshi's grab is overall one of the least effective in the game as it is slow, punishable and his throws are not even notably strong to fully compensate.
Forward throw			12%	Yoshi reels back with his opponent in his mouth and throws them forward. It is a fairly standard forward throw, having average power, making it a solid throw to set up edgeguards at lower percents and it can KO at higher percents.
Back throw			16%	Yoshi turns around with his opponent in his mouth and throws them backwards. It is a fairly standard back throw, having average power, making it a solid throw to KO opponents. Its ending lag is fairly high however.
Forward roll Back roll		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Swirls around, tail extended.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Swirls around, tail extended.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			6%	Twirls up and whips his tail. Short range.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			6%	Steadily gets up, reels his head back, and headbutt forward.
Neutral special		Egg Lay	5%	Sticks his tongue forward (with much less lag than his grab). If it hits an opponent, they will be damaged and trapped in an egg behind Yoshi. Tilting the control stick rapidly back and forth will help the opponent escape the egg more quickly. It can also be performed in the air as a specialized grab.
Up special		Egg Throw	14%	Throws an egg, which deals damage and moderately low knockback (but rather high for a projectile), being able to combo in very specific situations. The trajectory can be altered using the Control Stick.
Down special		Hip Drop	18% (body), 4% (stars)	A Ground Pound attack. If done on the ground, Yoshi leaps forwards and then does the attack. If done in the air, Yoshi simply drops down. Produces vertical knockback that can KO at high percentages, though due to somewhat high startup and ending lag, it is mainly used to intercept linear recoveries that end up onstage, such as Fox's Fire Fox and Donkey Kong's Spinning Kong.

Announcer call

• English/Japanese/Chinese

• French

• German

On-screen appearance

• Breaks out of a Yoshi egg, similar to his entrance from Super Mario World.

Taunt

• Spins 450 degrees while saying "Yoshi!", facing its left after the 450 degree twirl. He then does the following twice: raises his heels off the ground, raises his arms and opens his mouth, and says "Yoshi!" once while spinning.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Yo-shi *claps 3 times*	Yo-shi *claps 3 times*
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A combination of two small musical excerpts from Yoshi's Story.

• Looks up with his hands and waves.
• Glares at the screen and punches, then turns back facing right.
• Punches the air and gives a finishing pose.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

In the early metagame, Yoshi was just seen as an average character, who had troubling matchups against the majority of the characters ranked above him with a few even matchups. Due to his matchups and tournament presence looking to be average at best, Yoshi was ranked 8th on the first tier list in middle tier. However, Yoshi's tournament presence increased and his strengths were shown, which resulted in his increase to 6th of B tier on the second tier list. By the third tier list, Yoshi would stay at 6th, but would move to C tier, still being seen as a mid tier character.

In the time between the third and fourth tier list, Yoshi's tournament presence was greatly increased and with the look of his matchups appearing to become more favorible as time went on. Yoshi would see a lot of tournament success due to the abudance of strong and deciated Yoshi players in Wizzrobe, Prince and Kurrabba. Their knowledge of Yoshi and how he works allowed for difficult matchups, like Fox and Pikachu, appear to be even. Due to their success and the changing thoughts on Yoshi matchups, he would rise to 5th of A tier, where he is now seen as a high tier character. In the years since the last tier last was posted, Yoshi would go on to have more success, with him now being considered to have surpassed Fox as this point and might be 4th on the next tier list.

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Yoshi players (SSB)

Numbers in brackets indicate position in 2019-2020 Smash 64 Power Rankings 2017

•  Bonobono
•  Fireblaster (#36)
•  Hiyo - Japan's 2nd best Yoshi, 7th at Snosa III.
•  Kurabba (#HB) - Best Japanese Yoshi, 7th at Super Smash Con 2016, 2nd at Super Smash Con 2017.
•  Pete
•  Prince (#10) Known for his combos; used to be Japan's best Yoshi. Placed 9th at Super Smash Con 2016.
•  Shears (#64)
•  SheerMadness (#29)
•  tacos (#6)
•  Wizzrobe (#3) - Best American Yoshi.

Techniques

Yoshi's hurtboxes when performing a shield counter.

Yoshi (SheerMadness) performing a DJC counter on Fox (Mr Bushido).

Double jump cancel

DJCing is a glitch-technique that can be used by Yoshi and Ness. It involves using an aerial just after starting a double jump. This cancels the momentum of the double jump and allows quicker aerials, while also being able to speed up short hops, making short hopped DJC'd aerials especially effective when Z-cancelled. It can also help with aerial combos, particularly against floaty characters (who he can DJC repeatedly against with the various aerials), and can be used in conjunction with moves such as up tilt and manoeuvres such as soft platform dropping while performing a DJC up aerial on fast fallers.

Parry

Parrying refers to Yoshi techniques that involve using the unique properties of his shield or double jump to counterattack opponents.

Shield counter

By shielding at the precise frame a move hits, Yoshi can drop his shield immediately and attack out of it.

Double jump cancel counter

The unique properties of Yoshi's double jump allow him to use the armor to power through an opponent's attack, while using an aerial with fast startup (preferably a neutral aerial) to counterattack.

In Single Player

Yoshi appears as an opponent in the second stage of Single Player mode. The stage takes place on Yoshi's Island without cloud platforms and pits the player against a team of eighteen Yoshis. The first six Yoshis have different alternate costumes from each other, as do the next six and the final six. If the player manages to defeat them in the order they appear, they will be awarded the 50,000-point bonus Yoshi Rainbow.

Description

From the Game

Yoshi is the friendly dinosaur of Yoshi's Island. He began as Mario's partner, but has since built his own identity, and now appears in many games. He uses his unique ability to turn whatever he swallows into an egg as his foremost attack. Yoshis come in a rainbow cloud of colors and are said to have a high IQ from a very early age.

Works:

• Super Mario World (SNES)
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
• Yoshi's Story (N64)

Alternate costumes

Trivia

• Yoshi is the only character to boast unplayable variants, Blue Yoshi and Pink Yoshi, seen when the player fights the Yoshi Team in the 1P Game.
• If the player uses Yoshi against the Yoshi Team, all colored Yoshis still appear, in the same shade as the player's Yoshi.
• Yoshi takes after his look in Super Mario 64, but because Super Smash Bros. came out a while after that game and animation techniques were improved in that time, his appearance was slightly updated.
• Yoshi is the only character who has a unique shield (an egg).
• Yoshi, along with Donkey Kong, is one of two characters in the original Super Smash Bros. to never be portrayed with head wear in-game.
• Oddly enough, Yoshi's congratulations screen has his saddle colored yellow instead of red.
• This is the only game in the Super Smash Bros. series where Yoshi is placed as a high tier thus far.
• Yoshi, Kirby, and Jigglypuff are the only characters to not become helpless in Smash 64.
• Yoshi's inclusion marks the only time to introduce a new character from the Yoshi universe.
  • Because of this, both he and Captain Falcon are the only fighters to remain as sole fighters from their respective series since Smash 64.